“A Transparent Musical” is heading to New York and Broadway. The show, the first stage play from Amazon Studios, premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum in May — becoming the last show at the Taper for now, as Center Theater Group has canceled all shows at the stage following the close of “A Transparent Musical” on June 25.
But whereas the Mark Taper is on hold, “A Transparent Musical” has big things in store. According to Amazon, the show’s producers “intend to bring the show to Broadway sometime in 2024.” The musical, or course, is based on Amazon Prime Video’s Emmy-winning series “Transparent,” created by Joey Soloway, who also wrote the book to the stage musical with MJ Kaufman. Faith Soloway wrote the music and lyrics to “A Transparent Musical.”
Joining them is Tony-winning producer Eva Price (“& Juliet,” “Oklahoma,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “Dear Evan Hansen”), whose play “What the Constitution Means to Me” (by Heidi Schreck), was previously filmed for Amazon Prime Video, and Tina Landau.
“’Transparent’remains an incredibly impactful series with salient representation for the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Nick Pepper,head of US SVOD wholly owned development, Amazon Studios, in a statement. “This is the ideal series and characters tobringfrom series to stage,and we are thrilled to partner withTony-winning Broadway producer Eva Price.We hope the audience walks away inspired after experiencing this poignant story.”
“A Transparent Musical” was the first stage adaptation of an Amazon Studios program, but the company notes that its MGM Studios arm has been well-represented on Broadway, having recently won five Tonys for “Some Like It Hot” and “New York, New York.”
At the Mark Taper Forum, according to Amazon and the Center Theatre Group, “the musical brought in the highest proportion of young audience members (under 40) of any recent Taper production.” Amazon Studios also noted that it gave the CTG a grant to allow “underserved Angelenos to attend‘ATransparent Musical’free of charge during its final shows at Mark Taper Forum.”
“A Transparent Musical” is told through the eyes of the Pfefferman family’s youngest child, Ali Pfefferman, played in the Mark Taper Forum version by by Adina Verson. Per the logline, “Ali’s Los Angeles Jewish family is filled with secrets, but when their parent, Maura – played by Daya Curley – transitions to the transgender matriarch she always knew she was, the family is forced to confront their own identities and navigate their relationships with each other. Through a revelatory story of acceptance and self-expression,‘A Transparent Musical’explores the intersection of Jewish and queer history while celebrating the imperfectly human and startlingly familiar aspects of a universally relatable family.”
Besides Verson and Curley, the Mark Taper Forum production also starred Liz Larsen (Shelly Pfefferman), Zachary Prince (Josh Pfefferman), Sarah Stiles (Sarah Pfefferman), Kasper (Ezra), Peppermint (Davina) and Murphy Taylor Smith (Rabbi Raquel), as well as Samora la Perdida, Justin Rivers, Futaba Shioda, Robert Pieranunzi, Jimmy Ray Bennett, Pat Towne, Dahlya Glick, Emily Goglia, Alanna Darby, Ty-Gabriel Jones and Jonathan Ritter.
“Transparent” ran for 41 episodes on Prime Video between 2014 and 2019, ending with a feature-length musical, “Musicale Finale.”
